SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 25, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As lithium is declared a "critical metal" in the U.S., a young, NASDAQ-listed company is forging ahead to bring a lithium deposit into production in North Carolina.
Company mentioned: Piedmont Lithium Ltd. (PLLL:NASDAQ; PLL:ASX)
Piedmont Lithium is moving quickly to define lithium resources in North Carolina and bring the deposit into production. The state was the home of two large, historical lithium mines run by FMC Corp. and Albemarle Corp., and Albemarle, the number one global lithium player, is headquartered there.
Piedmont Lithium's project—the Piedmont Lithium Project—includes 1,199 acres in the Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt, the area that produced much of the world's lithium from the 1950s until 1990. It is a spodumene—hard-rock—project, in contrast with the brine projects of Argentina and Chile.
The company has announced that it plans to convert the mineral directly to lithium hydroxide from spodumene; lithium hydroxide is in demand for battery use and commands a higher price than lithium carbonate, which is what most mines produce.
Piedmont plans to increase the economics of the project by mining byproducts quartz, feldspar and mica. According the company, the mine will have estimated "first quartile spodumene concentrate costs of US$193/t and lithium hydroxide costs of US$3,112/t, both net of by-product credits and inclusive of royalties" with an "estimated NPV8% of US$888mm and after-tax IRR of 46% with ~2-year payback."
"The Piedmont Lithium Project has unique strategic value being the only major U.S. lithium spodumene project." - David Talbot, Eight Capital
Continue reading this article: Piedmont Lithium Poised to Take Advantage of Low-Cost U.S. Lithium Production
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The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Piedmont Lithium. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Piedmont Lithium.
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